NextFin news, NASA announced on this Tuesday from its headquarters in Washington, D.C., that it is inviting the public to send their names to the moon aboard the Artemis II mission. This mission, scheduled to launch no later than April 2026 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will be the first crewed lunar flight since the Apollo missions over 50 years ago.
The "Send Your Name with Artemis II" campaign allows anyone worldwide to register for free on NASA's website to have their name included on a flash memory card that will fly aboard the Orion spacecraft during the 10-day mission. Registrations are open through Wednesday, January 21, 2026.
Participants who register will receive a downloadable collectible "boarding pass" confirming their name's inclusion on the flight. The flash memory card containing all submitted names will be part of the Artemis II Official Flight Kit, alongside other commemorative items flown by NASA and its partners.
The Artemis II crew consists of four astronauts: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, along with Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. They will be the first humans to travel to the moon since the Apollo era.
Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator in NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, stated, "Artemis II is an opportunity to inspire people across the globe and to give them an opportunity to follow along as we lead the way in human exploration deeper into space."
This "fly your name" initiative follows similar campaigns for previous NASA missions, including the uncrewed Artemis I flight in late 2022, which attracted 3.4 million participants. Other missions with name-carrying flash drives or microchips include OSIRIS-REx, Parker Solar Probe, Perseverance Mars rover, and Europa Clipper.
The Artemis II mission represents a significant step in NASA's Artemis program, aiming to establish sustainable human exploration of the moon and beyond.
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